Sikhism·Raag Gauree·Shabad 199
Verse 1 of 5

The Best Help Is the One Who Stays to the End

ਗਉੜੀ ਮਹਲਾ ੫ ॥
ga-orhee mehlaa 5.
Gauree, Fifth Mehl:
ਤੁਮ ਹਰਿ ਸੇਤੀ ਰਾਤੇ ਸੰਤਹੁ ॥
tum har saytee raatay santahu.
O Saint, You are attuned to the Lord.
ਨਿਬਾਹਿ ਲੇਹੁ ਮੋ ਕਉ ਪੁਰਖ ਬਿਧਾਤੇ ਓੜਿ ਪਹੁਚਾਵਹੁ ਦਾਤੇ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
nibaahi layho mo ka-o purakh biDhaatay orh pahuchaavahu daatay. ||1|| rahaa-o.
Please stand my me, Architect of Destiny; please take me to my destination, Great Giver. ||1||Pause||

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa

In plain words

You wise ones are soaked through with love for the One.

So see me all the way through, Maker of all that is; carry me right to the end, my great Giver.

The best kind of help isn't a quick boost — it's someone who stays with you all the way to the end.
The deeper layer

The Rahao opens by addressing the sant — tum har saytee raatay santahu — 'you are dyed in the One, O wise ones' — and then turns to the One directly with a beautiful request: nibaahi layho... orh pahuchaavahu — 'see me through to the end; bring me all the way to my destination.' Purakh bidhaatay — 'Architect of what-is' — the shaping Presence behind existence. The keynote is steadfastness: the seeker asks not for a burst of help but for companionship all the way home, to the very orh (far end) of the journey.

A Question to Sit With

Who is someone who has stuck with you through the whole of something hard, right to the finish?

Translation by Dr. Sant Singh Khalsa·How we use AI

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